Legends of Origin
by NeoMegaRyuMKII
Summary: This story takes place about one year after the events of vol. 2 of RWBY. It assumes that various plot points (Raven's identity, Cinder's end game, Yang's mother, Ren's village mission, etc) answered but does not assume what the answers are. (note: this is a reformatting of a fic I posted previously and removed due to formatting and the such)
1. Chapter 1 - Pranks and Missions

**NOTE: All characters in the official RWBY canon are property of Monty Oum and RoosterTeeth. Original content/characters belongs to me.**

**SETTING:**

**Beacon Academy, about 2 years after end of Season1 Volume2 (and some original locations, to be introduced in later chapters).**

**(Please note that things that are going to be determined, such as who Raven is, what Cinder's end game is, what happened to Yang's mother, details about team SSSN, Ren's village mission, etc. will likely not be addressed. This fic assumes those questions to have been answered but it tells its own more independent story referencing those areas as little as possible).**

_Opening scene: _

Team RWBY's dorm room was very quiet. Nobody was asleep. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang are sitting in a square, playing Remnant: The Game. Having caught Torchwick and gotten open to more fun, Blake proves that she is a formidable player.

Ruby (playing as Vacuo) was muttering gibberish herself, calculating what move to make. She finally decided and with gusto she claimed "Alright, Weiss. I play Unbearable Sun!" She threw down the card. "Now until the end of my third turn from now, your Fearless Soldiers will take twice the damage. Since my Vacuo soldiers are immune to these hazards, I can move them into place to attack on my next turn. And on the turn after that, your…"

"Hold on!" Weiss yelled, interrupting Ruby.

Ruby groaned and said "Not again…" She sobbed for a moment and then asked "why do you have to stop me every time?"

Weiss gave her a reprimand in her usual style, saying "Perhaps if you tried to think about how I might respond you would have made a better move."

"I think she made the right move," Blake said.

Yang was chuckling. "Sorry sis, I guess we all would have stopped you."

Ruby was getting angry, hitting the table with her fist as she was yelling with her eyes closed. "As your leader I order you to let me win!"

Weiss, Blake, and Yang all said "Nah…" simultaneously.

Weiss began her counter move. "I play my trap Atlesian Upgrade," she said with a laugh. "Now my Fearless Soldiers can damage your creatures before your creatures will damage mine. Plus it lets some of our creatures fight immediately. Since Vacuo Soldiers don't have very high defensive power and my soldiers have high offensive power, I think I you know what will be done."

Ruby sighed and sat down. She checked the time and looked out the window. The sun was close to the middle of the sky. Several large clouds were in the sky but there was no expectation of rain. The wind was calm but threatening to get stronger. From the distance, howls of Beowolves could be heard from the Emerald Forest, but nobody was concerned. The forest was full of Grimm and they couldn't get to Beacon.

Blake, who was playing as Mistral began her turn. "My turn. I…" but she was interrupted. There was a very urgent knock on the door. Blake opened it to find Nora and Pyrrha giggling. Both of their hands were covered in white.

Yang looked at Pyrrha and Nora's hands and began asking "Um, Pyrrha, Nora… what's that on your…"

Pyrrha closed the door. She turned to team RWBY who was only half paying attention.

Pyrrha answered in a whisper, suspecting that her teammates might be listening in. "Jaune and Ren. They bet us that we won't be able to get Ren to say more than 15 words in a row."

"I talk enough for both of us," Nora giggled with her usual speedy talk. "I mean not that Ren and I are an "us" us and Jaune, well, he talks a lot too. Not as much as me and Pyrrha does talk more than Ren and I love hearing Ren talk which you know how little he does and… HEY! Is that Remnant: The Game? Did you see the new expansion that Remnbro released last month? Atlesian Paladins, Dust Shops, and…"

Pyrrha put her hand on Nora's mouth. Nora tried to lick Pyrrha's hand off but to no avail. Sora sighed and closed her mouth. "Anyway, we need to borrow your bath products," Pyrrha continued, resulting in team RWBY suddenly paying attention to nothing other than to Pyrrha and Nora. "Ren is apparently very specific about the kinds he uses. We already used up his shampoo and soap so step one is complete"

Weiss refused. "I brought exactly enough for me to use for this semester. I don't have any extra and I am also very specific."

Blake smiled a little and added "And I don't think you want to let him use my brand."

Yang rolled her eyes, but she clearly liked the idea. "And why do you think having different brands will make him say fifteen words?" she asked skeptically.

Nora was very quick to reply. "Isn't it obvious? He will ask about…"

There is another knock on the door. Ruby, still looking sad from not being able to make a good move in the game but still smiling from the idea of team JNPR's bet, opens the door. In the hall are Ren and Jaune, both of whom walk in.

While Ren stood in the doorway, Jaune walked in and moved around team RWBY's table, looking at the state of the boardgame. "Hey, Pyrrha. Hi, Nora," he started, and then went on to greeting every member of team RWBY. "Nice hair today Weiss. So, Pyrrha, Nora. What are you doing here? Not trying to get help in our little bet, are we?" His tone was very friendly, but it had hints of suspicion.

Pyrrha just gave a nervous smile and looked at Nora. Nora decided it was her time to shine; she took a deep breath and said "We were just uuhh, asking them what mission they want to go on this year! Yeah, that's it!" Pyrrha gave Nora an approving look. "We're second year students so now we get a mission without having to work with a professional Huntsman or Huntress! We get to show what we can do! What do you think Ren? Where should we go and why? Use aaaaallllll the details you can!"

Ren just gave a small sigh and said with minimal emotion "I think Jaune should choose. He's our leader."

Pyrrha and Nora look at each other a little disappointed. They give team RWBY a "play along" look.

Yang was quick to catch on to Pyrrha's wishes. "Well, we were thinking about going on a wilderness mission," she reported; it was indeed the truth: team RWBY had discussed this earlier. "We heard there were attacks on some settlements in the Napier Forest. Probably nothing but I want the adventure there."

"If there are people there then they might want to be customers of the Schnee Dust Company. People in the small settlements don't survive long without Dust," Weiss added.

"And I get to help people!" Ruby exclaimed with a little squeak.

A moment later, Ren looked at the time, put his hand on his stomach, and said a little more loudly than he usually spoke "We're going to get lunch. Join us?"

Yang stood up, flipping over the table in the process and replied "Sure, I'm starving."

_Scene 2: The Main Hall_

After a short lunch, all students at Beacon from every year and from every kingdom congregated together in the main hall for Ozpin's usual speech.

Yang was chatting with a few people of other teams Ozpin entered the room. Step by step, Ozpin took the stage and began his speech as the students gathered around their teams. "I'll try to be brief," he began in his usual quiet manner. "As you know, the four kingdoms do not have many opportunities to come together. Even though your missions will be separate from each other, some of you will work on connected missions. And even when apart, we are together in spirit." There was some muttering from the students. Ozpin paused, looked at some individuals from each kingdom, sighed, and continued at a higher volume and with more emotion. "After the War almost drove us into extinction, we now stand together. As second-year students, you will be tasked and tested on this mission. You will have ways to communicate with us but you must not use those ways unless absolutely necessary. You will go on missions with your team with no professional Huntsman or Huntress. Choose carefully and good luck."

The students applauded and congregated with their teams to discuss what missions they want.

"Alright, so are we decided? The Napier Forest?" Ruby asked.

"We agreed a week ago and the registration screen for it is right there!" Weiss replied, a little frustrated

Team RWBY walked over to it and registered. The mission was to begin the next morning.

_Scene 3: Later that night, team JNPR's room. Jaune and Ren are alone there_

Ren looked at Jaune and asked "So what are Pyrrha and Nora doing to win our bet?"

Jaune shrugged. "I don't know," he answered, distracted. "I should talk to them. You know. I can be their friend, see if I can learn something. It's not like they want something more. I mean Nora is… well, you know."

Ren smiled a little. "Yeah," he said, obviously trying to give Jaune a hint. "And Pyrrha is…"

Jaune interrupted Ren. "She loves how good a friend I am to her. I know. Anyway we have a couple days before our mission starts. I'm going to the Artie's comic book store. Want me to get you something there?"

Ren looked around, checked the door, and then got real close to Jaune. "Get me some Samurai Shampoo and Lotus Leaf soap," he whispered.

Jaune took a couple steps back and asked "From the pharmacy by Artie's?"

"Yep."

"But why? Don't you have enough?"

"Just trust me on this."

Jaune exited the room. "Okay," he said.

As Jaune exited the room, he ran into Ruby.

"Hey Jaune. Getting ready for your mission?" she inquired.

Jaune smiled a little. "Not yet. Still have a couple days," he said, looking down the hallway to see if Pyrrha or Nora were coming. "We're going to help a lab that works with the Schnee Dust Company to test their materials. We might get free samples!"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Bring me some, OK?"

Jaune chuckled and said "Alright. I'm getting some comics and other stuff for the trip. Good luck on your mission!"

"Thanks. You too."

Ruby entered her dorm and began packing her bags. She wished she could have Zwei join up again but to the dismay of everyone on her team (even Blake's), he had to go back to Taiyang in Patch.

_Scene 4: The next morning, just outside the gates of Beacon. The sun is up and there are no clouds. There are several small planes ready to take students on their missions. A few other teams have already left and a few others are currently outside as well, waiting for their pilot_

"Alright. This is our first real mission," yawned Blake. She didn't get much sleep that night from the excitement of having a chance to just work with teammates. "Working with Oobleck was fun and better than we expected but I still think it could have gone better."

"I heard that, Miss Belladonna!" Oobleck yelled from a distance.

Just then, an older man walked towards team RWBY. "You're team RWBY?" he asked

Team RWBY just nodded

"Alright," he said, "Let's go to the Napier Forest."


	2. Chapter 2 - Brawl at the Napier

After a few hours of flying, the plane finally landed by the edge of the Napier Forest. The pilot, an older man named Gamboge, wished team RWBY luck. "I don't know what's in there," he shouted over the sounds of the engines "and I don't really want to find out. You got everything? Enough water? Food? Bedrolls? Your weapons?"

"Of course, you… already made sure of that." Weiss said. She was so used to stupid questions she had forgotten that she was not talking to her teammates. She grabbed three extra packets of peanuts to go, opened one, shoved them all in her mouth, and followed her teammates. The plane took off loudly and departed.

"So what do we do now?" Blake asked, looking at the trail leading into the forest.

Yang smiled. "Well, the mission was clear. There was supposedly a Grimm attack on a small settlement in this forest. We need to find the survivors, if there are any."

"Well, Blake, you lived outside the kingdoms before," Ruby commented. "I think you know the most about looking for people in these situations."

"Yeah," Blake replied, a bit hesitantly, "but the reports for our mission were not exactly clear. How large was the settlement? What types of Grimm were here?"

"I dunno," but whatever comes in our way will get bullets in their gullets! Eh?" Yang said, pumping her fist.

Weiss facepalmed. As Ruby and her teammates entered the dense forest, there was a strange chill in the air. There was a faint sound from inside the forest towards the east. Weiss loaded Myrtenaster with fresh Dust and gave Blake a small supply just in case; Ruby refilled Crecent Rose with bullets.

Ruby looked around carefully, trying to figure out a good course of action. "Yang, you take the lead," she said after a few moments. "If we see something in front of us, you will be the best to take it down. Blake, go in the back. If something follows us you will be the first to hear."

There was general assent and the gang began to move. The trees were getting thicker, the ground was getting more uneven, and despite being early afternoon, the sky was getting darker. A small roar from the East alerted the gang to what they assumed was a small pack of Ursai. Heading in that direction, everyone was ready for a confrontation. When they reached a small clearing, they saw five Ursai, two of them relatively small, two average sized ones, and a large one. They were all surrounding what appeared to be a dead body. Everyone drew their weapons. With a shot from Crecent Rose, the Ursai all shifted attention to team RWBY.

Blake was ready for the two small Ursai. With her semblance, she managed to keep moving between the two, distracting each one. They were clearly young and did not have any notion of survival and working as one. Using the Burn Dust Weiss had given her, Blake created a shadow and moved behind the Ursa to stab it as it flew back after hitting the explosive entity. The second was equally unlucky. After a few bullets hit its head, it fell over and moved no more.

Weiss and Ruby teamed up against the average-sized Ursai. These were a little more adept at fighting but were still no match for two battle-hardened Huntresses. The two fought and made the two Ursai stand back to back. Weiss created a circle of glyphs on which Ruby could run. With a few slices with Crecent Rose, the Ursai fell apart.

Yang took on the largest Ursa. With a quick roll under its feet, she punched it in the stomach and sent it up into the air. As it fell, it flipped and managed to hit her. Despite minor injuries, Yang was completely fine. With a few more punches, the Ursa fell backwards. It was still alive and clearly angered.

Ruby saw that Yang was still fighting. "Yang needs my help! YAAAAAAHHH," she yelled, getting ready to charge.

Weiss managed to grab Ruby before she got anywhere. "She will be fine. Don't attack out of turn. Don't take away your sister's fun!" reprimanded Weiss.

Indeed, Yang was just smiling as she kept fighting. She was getting tired but the Ursa was clearly hurt. As Yang was knocked back again, her eyes turned red and she sped towards the big Ursa, jumping on its back, punching it in the back of the neck, and dislocating its head. It fell with a loud thud.

Ruby looked at her sister with awe. Her eyes widened as she said "nice job sis."

Blake looked at Yang with a mixture of being scared and being impressed. "Remind me not to make you angry," she said a bit slowly.

Everyone smiled giggled, but soon the looks on their faces turned to horror. Right in front of them was a small clearing. Near the center of the clearing was a body, clearly femake.

Yang was the first to snap out of the shock. "That person over there! We have to help her!" she shouted, shocking her teammates back to the present. They ran towards the body, a middle-aged woman. She had streaks of purple in her hair. Her leather armor was covered in blood. To their relief, she was still breathing.

Weiss knelt down next to the woman's face and asked her "What's your name?"

The woman sighed harshly. She had a deep wound in her chest and her legs were bent at angles that were not possible for a healthy human. "I… I… Iris," she groaned weakly.

Ruby knelt next to Weiss. "Listen, Iris," she said, her voice breaking, "You will be fine. What happened?"

Iris took too long to answer. "A Grimm… came from nowhere. " Iris coughed. "Village destroyed. I think… there is nobody left."

Ruby grabbed Iris' right hand, a tear in her eye.

Blake looked around, listening for any sounds. "Are there any more?" she asked.

Iris tried to raise her free hand to point, but could not. Realizing she could not do so, she reached for her left side and grabbed a small purple knife. She handed it to Yang, who was on her knees on Iris' left.

"Find if anyone survived," Iris said slowly, with her voice fading. "Take… the… knife…"

Ruby was tearing up even more. "Listen to me Iris!" she yelled. Her breaking voice desperate, "You are not going to die. We're going to help you. Stay awake. Please!"

It was to no avail. Iris' hand became cold and it was clear Iris was dead. Weiss closed Iris' eyes, stood up, and looked determined at her teammates. "If there is anyone alive left then we have to find them before any more Grimm find them and…" She stopped mid-sentence. She saw Ruby was still holding Iris' hand, her eyes closed and facing the ground. "Ruby, what's wrong?" Weiss asked sympathetically.

Yang explained. "Death has always hit my sister very hard. When Summer Rose died, she could barely believe it. She spent some days just waiting by the door waiting for her to come home."

Weiss and Blake had a sympathetic look on their face.

"I guess that would make things painful. Were they very close?" Blake asked.

Yang just nodded. She walked towards Ruby, bent down, and put her hand on Ruby's shoulder in a reassuring manner. Weiss and Blake walked towards each other.

"We need to keep moving," Weiss said determinedly. "The more time we stay here, the worse it is going to be."

Yang gave Weiss an angry look – how dare Weiss force Ruby to just get over it? However, the angry look became a fearful one. She saw the same look on Weiss and Blake's faces. Even Ruby, torn as she was, lifted her head as they heard words coming from where they entered the clearing. A man's voice, deep and serious. It only said four words: "You shouldn't be here."


	3. Chapter 3 - An Unbeatable Stranger

"You shouldn't be here."

Ruby was still on her knees by Iris' dead body when the man charged from out of the woods. He was a tall man, a few years older than Yang but with definite signs of having been through more things than anyone his age should have. He wore black shoes, dark grey pants and a long sleeved black shirt. His gray leg armor covered most of his lower body, though the kneecaps were darker brown and bronze. His lower stomach was not covered in armor, but his upper chest, shoulders, and upper arms were in bright and reflective steel trimmed with titanium. He wore leather gloves and the tops of his gloves were very well protected. His skin was well tanned and he wore thick glasses. Despite being rather muscular, he was not very good looking. He had scratches on his face and he had a shorter than average neck.

Quicker than Ruby moves he drew out his weapon, a large flail. The large metallic ball at the end of the weapon was covered with large spikes. He spun his weapon thrice and launched it at Weiss' left side, knocking her off her feet and sending her several feet to his right. He managed to do all of this before Weiss could even react. With a painful yell, she hit the ground face down.

Blake looked at the man. "What are you doing?" she asked, angry.

An angry look passed over the man's face. "I said… you shouldn't BE here!"

He stood still for a moment, waiting to see what move Blake was going to make. She took a small step to her left and tried to shoot at the man, but he rolled to the side and dodged the attack without any effort. Blake began charging at the man, hoping to slash at him a few times. This was to no avail. He pulled the giant steel ball at the end of his towards himself and used it as a shield. He knocked Blake back with a kick and hit her with another swing of his weapon. Blake moved backwards and tried to make herself look open. Her trick seemed to worked. As the man's weapon was about to hit her, Blake used her semblance to dodge the attack and create a shadow of herself imbued with the Burn Dust she received from Weiss. However, even this proved ineffective. Just as the ball was about to make contact with the entity, the man swung his weapon, changing the course of the steel ball towards the upper left, right where Blake ended up when creating her shadow. She got knocked down and saw a gash on her arm. The man ran to try to hit Blake on her left side; Blake managed to roll aside but ended up hitting her own Burn shadow. As she flew back towards the man, he swung his weapon one more time, knocking Blake away towards where Weiss was still barely able to move.

"Why are you doing this?" Yang asked, determined and ready to fight. "Who are you?"

"You have no idea what's in store for you if you stay here much longer!" the main said in a calm voice, a threat in every word. "Better for you leave now before you REALLY get hurt."

Yang was confused. She saw how much skill this man had. She knew he could already have finished off Weiss and Blake if he had wanted. He was able to react to Blake's every move beat for beat and even managed to use her own semblance against her.

"RUBY!" Yang shouted. "Get Weiss and Blake somewhere safe. I'll take him."

Ruby, smiled a little, nodded, and said "Right. Show him what you can do. I believe in you, sis!"

The man clicked a small button on the handle of his weapon. The giant metallic ball slid down the neck of his weapon and grasped his left hand. It had become a spiked boxing glove. He then grabbed the remaining neck of his weapon and detached it, holding it in his right hand. His flail had become a boxing glove and a whip.

"Don't take me lightly." Yang said without a hint of her easygoing nature.

The man stood, sized Yang up a little, and said with a bit of derision "don't you take ME lightly. I don't want to have to hurt you. I will give you one chance: leave this place."

"I don't think so."

"You're going to regret that choice," the man said, disappointed. He sighed. "But very well. If you wish to fight, I will oblige!"

Yang began to charge. She tried to punch the man but he was ready for that. Despite how heavy his boxing glove must have been, he was able to move it with perfect sync to block Yang's attacks.

Yang was throwing quick punches. "Take that and TH-"

The man rolled backwards and swung his whip at Yang's ribs. There was a lot of energy in the swing, but Yang managed to only wince at the strike. She shot at the man with Ember Cecilia but as before the man seemed completely prepared.

"We've never met before have we?" Yang asked, a little scared. She tried to punch the man again, but he blocked the attack with his boxing glove.

"I don't think so," he said, trying to push Yang away with his boxing glove, "but I guess you figured out that I am too good for you." He swung his whip at Yang's legs, which proved to be a great distraction; as Yang was feeling the damage, the man shoved her a few yards back.

"No such thing. HYAAAA." Yang charged, her face lighting up a little. Despite the challenge she was facing, she realized how much fun she was having. This was a great adventure and a chance to show the world what she could do. After running several feet towards the man and getting very close to her opponent, she jumped in hopes to surprise him. As before, the man immediately raised his boxing glove. He shoved it forward and knocked Yang back. She fell on the ground but rolled and got on her feet. She squatted a little to get balanced and got ready. Her eyes turned red. "You're in trouble now!"

"Don't keep making this hard on yourself," the man said.

With a chortle, Yang charged. This time the man seemed less prepared. While he was capable of dodging or turning around to not get hit in more vulnerable areas by most of Yang's attacks, he was not quite able to retaliate every time. However he was still very agile and it despite getting hit a few times he still would not get knocked over. When Yang tried another jump attack, the man reattached his whip to his boxing glove and returned the weapon to its flail state. This was almost too much for Yang. She got knocked back again and when she got up she was panting and could only stand on one knee. The man once again went for boxing glove/whip mode. He stretched his left arm (boxing glove) and the spikes retracted. Beams of Dust were shot from where the spikes had been a moment earlier. The Dust hit Yang right in the chest and knocked her over. He walked over to Yang. Instead of moving, she waited a moment and then when he was right over her body, she opened her eyes and hit him right in the stomach. The man was not as ready to defend himself as he was before; he managed to turn just enough to not get hurt too much but he was still knocked backwards. He landed on one knee but got up much faster than Yang expected. Despite getting stronger and stronger as she got hit, Yang was still tire, feeling her injuries burning. The two stood face to face a few feet away from each other, staring each other down.

"What… who are you?" she asked, panting.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he replied. There was sympathy in his voice. "Get out of here. Get your teammates and get out. While you still have a chance."

"Never." Despite her determination, Yang was feeling hopeless. This man made her fight with Neo just a year earlier feel like a playground tussle. Sure, this man was not completely invincible but he might as well have been. He barely broke a sweat but Yang herself was on the verge of collapsing. Her only comfort was that this man did not seem to have the intention to kill anyone. Yang began to charge. However, the man was waiting just for that. As Yang began to throw a punch, the man sidestepped, swung his whip which wrapped itself around Yang's wrist, and swung again, causing Yang to fall. Despite three attempts, Yang simply could not get up.

Just then, Ruby came back. She saw her sister lying in the dirt, hurt and tired but definitely alive. She pulled out Crescent Rose and had a steely and unforgiving look in her eye. The man faced Ruby, ready for another fight. "What did you do to my sister?" Ruby asked, scared and angry. "How did you…"

"She is strong," he said without emotion, "but she simply refused to leave. I warned her several times."

"You won't get away with this!" Ruby replied, angry.

"If you had just heeded my warning you wouldn't be in this mess." he said. "Even if you take me down you have no chance against what's coming." His eyes got wider. "You have no idea what lurks here," he said through his teeth. "Now step aside."

"No," Ruby said, bending down, getting ready to fight

"I said STEP ASIDE!"

"NO!"

The man charged.


	4. Chapter 4 - Trust and Mistrust

As the man charged, Ruby was ready to defend herself. However, he was running in her direction, she noticed he was not looking at her. He was looking… behind her? Just as she turned around she saw a _King Taijitu_ behind her, ready to strike. The man returned his weapon to flail mode and swung at the Grimm. The serpent's head was knocked back, though it was still attached and the Grimm was still able to fight. With more jumps and swings, the King Taijitu was not faring well. Sensing a good opportunity, Ruby jumped into the fray, attacking the Grimm's other head. With a few swings and shots, she was feeling very confident. The man once more switched to boxing glove and whip mode (G+W). As with his fight with Yang, he forced the spikes to retract and shot Dust at the beast.

"Move aside, girl!" the man said again, more determined than before.

Ruby would not have listened to this man if there hadn't been a powerful and angry Grimm right behind her; this man outfought all three of her teammates so she decided it was in her best interest to listen. The man jumped backwards and swung his whip. It created a large arc of energy which hit the King Taijitu right in the middle of the body, slicing it in two. The Grimm was defeated. The man once more returned his weapon to its flail mode and put it away. He walked towards Ruby.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Ruby took a step back. "Why did you save me?" she asked.

"I had no desire to hurt you or your teammates," he said, his eyes closed and his head facing the ground. "I don't like hurting people but sometimes it is the only way. This forest is dangerous. Bring your teammates here. I will help them with their wounds. They will need it before you all leave."

"We're not leaving this forest," Ruby replied more rudely than she intended. "We are on a mission."

The man just looked at her, sighed, shook his head, and said "This is no place for people like you."

Ruby was outraged. "Just because we are girls doesn't mean…"

"Don't be a fool!" the man said incredulously. "Nobody thinks women cannot Hunt the way men do. But you are young. Probably second or third year at your academy. Strong, but definitely not skilled enough to come here. But you… you are younger than your teammates."

"How did you know all that?" Ruby asked.

"I'm just clever that way," he said with a hint of a smile.

The man's reply amused Ruby. He was strong and smart, though rather snarky. "Well, we've been told there was a small Grimm population here that attacked a settlement. We are trying to find survivors."

"You won't find any," the man replied, his voice stern and determined. "If I'm right about what lurks here, and I am very often right, you should be grateful that you are still alive. Bring your teammates here, I won't hurt them."

Ruby looked into the man's eyes. She wasn't the best at reading people but she had a feeling he was telling the truth. "Okay," she nodded. "Be back in a moment."

As Ruby ran to get her teammates, she was still very concerned. This man kept talking about some impending danger. The Grimm population so far was very easy to handle. She could have taken on that King Taijitu herself with no problem. As she ran back to the clearing, half carrying Blake and Weiss, she saw the man kneeling by Iris' dead body.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked, almost dropping her teammates.

"Looking for signs," he said. "Based on the wounds this woman has, I am right about what is hiding here. This is not good."

"You said you can help my teammates. So help them."

The man just nodded and walked over. He took several bandages and ointments from his pockets. He applied the ointments liberally on Blake, Yang, and Weiss' wounds, bandaging them carefully. The girls were all conscious when the man helped them out but didn't have any power to fight back.

"It's ok," Ruby told her teammates in a low and comforting voice. "He isn't going to hurt you. He saved me from a Grimm before I brought you back here."

When the man finished bandaging the girls and helped them sit up, he turned around and looked at the surrounding woods. From that moment, the girls were at least willing to trust the man. He at least repaired as much as he did damage and he saved the team leader

"What's your name?" Yang croaked.

The man waited a moment. "You can call me Strat. And you are…."

Ruby took out Crescent Rose, showing off its impressive blade. "I'm Ruby. This is my weapon, Crecent Rose."

"Blake."

"I'm Yang. How did you…"

Weiss smacked Yang on her side. Yang and Weiss both winced. They were still not in good enough shape to reprimand each other. "I'm…" Weiss started, but she was interrupted by Strat.

"Weiss Schnee, of the Schnee Dust Company," he said in a monotone. "Yeah, you are not exactly a nameless person."

"Well what kind of name is 'Strat'?" Weiss asked sarcastically.

"The name of the guy who knocked you down with zero effort," he replied without missing a beat. "Now don't overexert yourself. You still need to rest before you leave."

"We're not leaving," Blake said.

"Ruby told me that you are on a mission to find survivors of the attack on the small nearby settlement," Strat explained to everyone, shaking his head. "But you are wasting your time. You won't find any."

"Iris told us to look," Ruby said, pointing to Iris' dead body. "We are not giving up."

Yang was quick to change the subject. "How did you do all of that stuff, Strat?"

"Do what?" he asked as he took a seat. His posture was unusual. His right leg was positioned as though he would sit cross-legged but his left leg was positioned in a similar fashion facing the same direction so his left knee was in contact with his right foot. His back was a hunched and he kept moving his arms, looking for a comfortable position for them.

"You were ready for every move I was making," Yang explained, impatient. "Almost, anyway. And my semblance makes me stronger as I get hurt. You have something special."

"I don't think you need to know this now," he said.

"Where are you from?" Weiss asked.

"Mistral."

Ruby's eyes got wider. "Oh? Do you know Sun Wukong? Neptune Vasilias? Pyrrha Nikos?"

Strat sat up straight. "Did you say you know Pyrrha Nikos?" he asked, almost violently.

"Um, yeah." Yang replied a bit surprised. "She goes to Beacon with us."

Strat's eyes widened. Team RWBY looked at each other with curiosity in their eyes. They realized this might be an opening. Strat did not put an impression of himself being very open to sharing information.

"THE Pyrrha Nikos?" Strat asked again, as though he was sure he heard wrong. "The red haired 4 time consecutive winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament with the golden bronze armor and polarity semblance?"

Yang looked at her teammates. "I'll take it you knew her. You are obviously a few years older than her though. I don't suppose you knew her through Shrine prep? I think she mentioned being there before coming to Beacon."

Strat was angry with his reply, but he looked like he was forcing himself to calm down. "No, I don't know her through that."

"Then how do you know her?" Blake asked.

"It doesn't concern you," he said.

Team RWBY looked dejected. There was something that Strat wanted from Beacon, but they still could not figure out what it was.

"Oookaaay..." Ruby said after a short silence. "So then where did you learn to fight? And your weapon is just awesome! What's it called?"

"Huh?" Strat was taken aback by the question. Ruby guessed that he hasn't talked about those things for a long time and that he was compelled to answer. "Oh. Delirium Vortex. And I graduated from Oasis Academy about a year and a half ago. Great academy but full of people with false ideas about the world."

"Where's your team?" Blake asked. "I thought Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral tend to stay together after graduating."

"They…" Strat started, and then stopped. He didn't want to give that sort of information, not just yet. The memories associated with the answer were very painful. "They are not my team. Not anymore. They understood when I explained it to them. Well, they didn't really understand but they respected it."

"Well, I still want to know," Yang replied with an in-your-face attitude. "But it is getting a little late. We should get some rest. You want to join us? It'll make things easier for us. You can get some rest. You look tired."

Strat just nodded.

"We have a long day tomorrow," Weiss said. "We have a lot of ground to cover and I need my beauty sleep." Weiss saw a frustrated look on Strat's face. He didn't have to say anything for her to understand what he was thinking. "I know you said there won't be any survivors," Weiss said. Her voice was surprisingly comforting. She then straightened her back and returned to her usual tone. "But we have to look anyway. And even if we don't find anyone we can at least take out the Grimm."

Strat just looked sad. "I wish it were that simple. It won't be. But for now, we should get some rest."


End file.
